In the case of some zooform phenomena, it seems that we are dealing with negative energy as a conjurer of monsters. For instance, the county of Essex has several cases of weird manifestations presenting themselves, but they are forms which clearly are not of some biological or zoological order. At Wallasea Island there was once a place called the Devil’s House which sat on the bleak marshlands flanking the River Crouch. The house, was more for a farm-like abode and took its sinister name from its owner, a chap named Daville, although author Eric Maple notes that’, according to the old records it was known as Demon’s Tenement as far back as the time of Charles II.’
At first the building seemed like many a haunted house in that local folk would refuse to stay in it because of the strange atmospheres and sudden drops in temperature. On other occasions weird sounds were heard, such as the flapping of wings and an overwhelming sense of dread would follow. Such a fear seemed justified when a sergeant, serving in the First World War decided to put the legends to bed and stayed the night in the building. The following morning the sergeant was found in such a terrible state, his pale complexion and refusal to speak had locals worried. Another man claimed that he had heard to sound of wings flapping suggesting some giant yet unseen bird was soaring above but the ghostly reputation of the place took a knock when one evening it was reported that a hideous spectre with horns and a long tail was explained by a stray bullock which had sought shelter in the hayloft after being pursued by a dog. However, during one particular harvest a local labourer experienced a terrible creature whilst working in one of the barns. He had heard his name being called on several occasions and the sudden drop in temperature told him that something wasn’t right. Although spooked, the man continued his work when suddenly he felt as though he was possessed and had a sudden urge to commit suicide. The labourer found a piece of old rope, fastened it around his neck as a noose and climbed a ladder to tie the rope around a beam. A voice rasped, “Do it, do it” in his ear but then something even more bizarre happened. Looking upward the man saw a terrible ape-like creature swinging from the timbers. The phantom ape had bright yellow eyes that glowed in the gloom. It appeared rather slim in form and was completely black in colour. This hideous apparition seemed to jolt him out of his suicidal trance and scrambled down the ladder and fled the barn.
Locals believed the ghastly experiences that had taken place in the building were the product of Devil worship which had taken place years before. Such negative energy, depending on the individual who experiences it, seems to have the ability to prey on the human psyche and cast out weird, absurd holographic-type entities which feed on fear. Such devils can take on many forms, either as unseen poltergeists which hurl items around the place or attack their victims, to nefarious familiars ranging from disfigured demonic cats, headless black dogs, and goodness knows what else.
Thursday, 8 March 2012
Wednesday, 29 February 2012
Friday, 24 February 2012
Monster-hunter Richard Freeman interviewed...by another monster-hunter!!
Nick Redfern, a good friend and fellow hunter of monsters, has recently written a smal feature on Richard Freeman - Goth beast-hunter extraordinaire, and author of the excellent 'Yokai Encyclopedia'. Check out the article HERE
Wednesday, 21 December 2011
'Darklore VI' out now!
Monday, 24 October 2011
MYSTERY ANIMALS OFTHE BRITISH ISLES: LONDON - OUT NOW!
Tuesday, 18 October 2011
Attack of the Cyclops
As a teenager some of the best films were those fantastic adventures such as Clash Of The Titans, Jason & The Argonauts, and those Sinbad epics. Whether in search of lost treasure, or hidden lands, warriors would fall at the feet of great, mythical beasts that had risen from oceans or deep caverns. One of the most popular mythical beasts was of course the dreaded Cyclops. This formidable horror exists in the crusty pages of centuries old tomes which also cage more unbidden beasts such as the Minotaur, the Centaur, the Satyr, the Unicorn, the Harpy – these were from the original menagerie of mystery.
However, time and time again, the monsters which appear relegated to folklore do, at certain times and to certain people, seem to escape from the pen of myth and step into what we deem reality, albeit a very strange and as yet understood one. The Cyclops is no exception.
This monster belonged to a race of primordial giants raised in Greek, then later Roman mythology. Of course, this hideous creature was all the more terrifying due to its single, beady eye perched in the centre of its wrinkled forehead. The name Cyclops is said to derive from ‘circle-eyed’. In the film The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad, made in 1958, and animated by Ray Harryhausen, Sinbad the sailor and his crew stumble up the lost land of Colossa. Whilst trudging across land they meet a magician called Sokurah who is fleeing from a Cyclops. Sinbad and his men escape but their boat is destroyed when the monster throws a giant boulder at it. However, author R.S. Lambert, in his 1966 book Exploring The Supernatural, records two bizarre encounters with a Cyclopean form. In 1888 a young man was visiting a friend in the area of Mule River, Inverness County, Nova Scotia, in Canada when, up on the road ahead he saw a terrifying creature. The monster, which was described as large and black, had its back turned to the witness but rather disturbingly it had a huge red eye in the centre of its back which leered at him. Suddenly, from its two frontal eyes a stream of light beamed ahead, lighting up the path on which the man was set to travel. The monster then moved slowly towards the house of his friend, mooched around the outside but then suddenly came back down to the road and ran quickly towards the petrified witness. The man was very alert and flung himself aside as the Cyclops rushed by. The beast didn’t turn on the man, instead it made its way off into the darkness, the glowing red eye on its back the only sign that it was moving away slowly into the night.
A quarter of a century later two elderly women were taking a stroll along the main highway of Port Hawkesbury, C.B. As Lambert states, ‘In those days the rail tracks of the Canadian National Railway, that now run alongside of the road, had not been built, nor did any ferry ply across the straits to Cape Porcupine.’
Whilst on their journey the two ladies were suddenly startled by a rushing noise behind them followed by a metallic clatter. Looking round they were horrified to see, coming toward them, a huge black monster with one terrible eye positioned in the centre of its face. Strangely, the monster ran straight by the women, rattling their ears with a tremendous roar which escaped its lips. The beast ran in the direction of the fish house. The women were so scared they ran off to another house and hid there until they believed the coast was clear. Even stranger still, according to Lambert, ‘Many years later, one of them heard for the first time in her life a railway train on the mainland of Nova Scotia, and recognised the sound as the one she had heard that night. She died, however, before the Inverness railway was built. When it was, the track, as surveyed, passed right through the fish house that the women had seen.’
An incredibly bizarre story indeed.
In 1981 at Parson Drove in Cambridge (England) a woman and her son, one night, claimed that they had seen a strange, calf-sized monster with one eye. The monster watched the witnesses and ran off. Around the same time in Kent, also in England, a man claimed to have seen a one-eyed tiger in local woodlands – died a few days later of a heart attack! In Scottish-Irish folklore a creature known as the Fachen is said to have one eye. The beast has a mane of black feathers, and has one tremendously strong arm which it uses to destroy orchards.
Some researchers believe that this seemingly impossible creature may have originated from some type of ancient bird which once inhabited the Emerald isle. Monster folklore speaks of many hairy humanoids, spectral dogs, dragons and demons said to sport one single glaring eye. Strangely, in Cyclopean lore, there is no mention of a female Cyclops.
Masinaigan’s UFO Roundup of 19th January and 2nd February 1997, reported that during the December of 1996 a Daoud Ahmad, who resided on Israel’s West Bank at the Nur-a-Shamat camp, had awoke during a restless night when two bizarre humanoids attacked him. Ahmad described the beings as having a single eye, large heads, a Mohawk-style haircut, and the intruders stood around two-feet in height. Ahmad added, “They wore black leather clothes…After they beat me I lost consciousness.’
The terrified witness was taken to hospital and treated for facial bruising. Although neighbours heard a commotion coming from the home of Ahmad, they saw no-one enter or leave the premises.
However, time and time again, the monsters which appear relegated to folklore do, at certain times and to certain people, seem to escape from the pen of myth and step into what we deem reality, albeit a very strange and as yet understood one. The Cyclops is no exception.
This monster belonged to a race of primordial giants raised in Greek, then later Roman mythology. Of course, this hideous creature was all the more terrifying due to its single, beady eye perched in the centre of its wrinkled forehead. The name Cyclops is said to derive from ‘circle-eyed’. In the film The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad, made in 1958, and animated by Ray Harryhausen, Sinbad the sailor and his crew stumble up the lost land of Colossa. Whilst trudging across land they meet a magician called Sokurah who is fleeing from a Cyclops. Sinbad and his men escape but their boat is destroyed when the monster throws a giant boulder at it. However, author R.S. Lambert, in his 1966 book Exploring The Supernatural, records two bizarre encounters with a Cyclopean form. In 1888 a young man was visiting a friend in the area of Mule River, Inverness County, Nova Scotia, in Canada when, up on the road ahead he saw a terrifying creature. The monster, which was described as large and black, had its back turned to the witness but rather disturbingly it had a huge red eye in the centre of its back which leered at him. Suddenly, from its two frontal eyes a stream of light beamed ahead, lighting up the path on which the man was set to travel. The monster then moved slowly towards the house of his friend, mooched around the outside but then suddenly came back down to the road and ran quickly towards the petrified witness. The man was very alert and flung himself aside as the Cyclops rushed by. The beast didn’t turn on the man, instead it made its way off into the darkness, the glowing red eye on its back the only sign that it was moving away slowly into the night.
A quarter of a century later two elderly women were taking a stroll along the main highway of Port Hawkesbury, C.B. As Lambert states, ‘In those days the rail tracks of the Canadian National Railway, that now run alongside of the road, had not been built, nor did any ferry ply across the straits to Cape Porcupine.’
Whilst on their journey the two ladies were suddenly startled by a rushing noise behind them followed by a metallic clatter. Looking round they were horrified to see, coming toward them, a huge black monster with one terrible eye positioned in the centre of its face. Strangely, the monster ran straight by the women, rattling their ears with a tremendous roar which escaped its lips. The beast ran in the direction of the fish house. The women were so scared they ran off to another house and hid there until they believed the coast was clear. Even stranger still, according to Lambert, ‘Many years later, one of them heard for the first time in her life a railway train on the mainland of Nova Scotia, and recognised the sound as the one she had heard that night. She died, however, before the Inverness railway was built. When it was, the track, as surveyed, passed right through the fish house that the women had seen.’
An incredibly bizarre story indeed.
In 1981 at Parson Drove in Cambridge (England) a woman and her son, one night, claimed that they had seen a strange, calf-sized monster with one eye. The monster watched the witnesses and ran off. Around the same time in Kent, also in England, a man claimed to have seen a one-eyed tiger in local woodlands – died a few days later of a heart attack! In Scottish-Irish folklore a creature known as the Fachen is said to have one eye. The beast has a mane of black feathers, and has one tremendously strong arm which it uses to destroy orchards.
Some researchers believe that this seemingly impossible creature may have originated from some type of ancient bird which once inhabited the Emerald isle. Monster folklore speaks of many hairy humanoids, spectral dogs, dragons and demons said to sport one single glaring eye. Strangely, in Cyclopean lore, there is no mention of a female Cyclops.
Masinaigan’s UFO Roundup of 19th January and 2nd February 1997, reported that during the December of 1996 a Daoud Ahmad, who resided on Israel’s West Bank at the Nur-a-Shamat camp, had awoke during a restless night when two bizarre humanoids attacked him. Ahmad described the beings as having a single eye, large heads, a Mohawk-style haircut, and the intruders stood around two-feet in height. Ahmad added, “They wore black leather clothes…After they beat me I lost consciousness.’
The terrified witness was taken to hospital and treated for facial bruising. Although neighbours heard a commotion coming from the home of Ahmad, they saw no-one enter or leave the premises.
Remember the 'Red Ghost' ?
A bizarre zooform creature story from Neil Arnold at the CENTRE FOR FORTEAN ZOOLOGY. Read it HERE
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